The Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress.
{"Image DocumentName": "The Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress.", "Image ImageDescription": "The Second Continental Congress formed a committee known today as The Committee of Five. John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, & Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson, with minor changes from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. The Second Continental Congress formed a committee known today as The Committee of Five. Members included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. The committee consisted of two New England men, John Adams of Massachusetts and Roger Sherman of Connecticut; two men from the Middle Colonies, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York; and one southerner, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Jefferson was the least likely choice. At 33, he was the youngest delegate at Philadelphia. Adams or Franklin seemed to be the logical choice. Adams was actually first believed to be the author of Common Sense Robert Livingston, one of the members of the committee who wrote the Declaration of Independence, never signed it. He believed that it was too soon to declare independence and therefore refused to sign. Jefferson did not like being in the middle of the city, so he found a room at Jacob Graff\u2019s home. \u2022 Jacob Graff was a bricklayer who had built his house on the outskirts of town. \u2022 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in under three weeks at Graff\u2019s house. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and member of the Committee of Five died on July 4, And John Adams, also a committee member, died on the same day.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}